Authorities Finally Know Why Human Feet Keep Washing Up on the Pacific Northwest Coast

And while this gruesome story has certainly made headlines in the news and on social media, the reality of the feet-filled shoes is not quite as horrific as it sounds.

So far, fourteen shoes with human remains have been found in a very small area along the shores of the Salish Sea, which spans from Olympia, Washington, to the Campbell River in British Columbia and includes the Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia.

The Salish Sea is certainly a large bay, at almost 700 square miles, but fourteen shoes with feet still inside is still a lot of human remains to be found in any one area. However, according to experts, it’s not actually that surprising considering the natural layout of the sea and the population of its coastlines.

The second factor is weather. Strong winds in the area create currents that push trash and human remains towards the shores. The rising water temperatures in the Pacific Northwest are expediting this process since heavier items move to the surface.

The latest shoe with human remains is said to have belonged to a man missing from the area since 2016. The British Columbia Coroners Service has worked tirelessly to identify the rest, though they have only been able to correctly connect eight of the fourteen shoes with six presumed deceased individuals.

Because the feet have been submerged in salt water for extended periods of time, the DNA is frequently too damaged for testing. In addition, because many of the missing persons were not criminals, their DNA is not on record and there is no way to cross reference the minimal samples collected.

And while previous information stated that a human body could remain intact under the ocean’s surface for weeks or even months, this study proved that a corpse could become a skeleton in a mere four days.

However, authorities have made it exceptionally clear that they have dismissed this theory and believe that there was no foul play involved regarding the six people’s shoes they have been able to identify.

Severed feet inside lonely shoes have also been found on the Willamette River in Oregon, in Charleston, South Carolina, and on the banks of the Mississippi River in Missouri. And authorities in New York City are forced to fish for corpses around Manhattan every spring as the warm weather pushes them toward the shores.

Co-director of the Center for Forensic Research at Simon Fraser University Gail Anderson explained, “Feet easily disarticulate and when they are attached to a flotation device such as a running shoe, they are easily washed ashore.” He continued, “Notice there are no feet washing ashore in stiletto heels or flip-flops. Also, today’s running shoes are much more buoyant than in the past.”

Now, when beachgoes see shoes wash up along the Salish Sea, and inevitably investigate to see if it’s yet another with human remains inside, the police will be able to narrow down whose foot they found more efficiently.

According to the extensive research collected about corpse decomposing in the ocean, as well as the winds in the Pacific Northwest, warming waters, and the growing population along the coast, the human remains-filled shoes are not that surprising. In fact, Salish Sea beach goers can expect them to continue to wash up from time-to-time.